Estes Park News

Where is Estes Park's MPEC going?

Outline for construction given at mayor's coffee chat

By Juley Harvey

Trail-Gazette

Posted:
04/10/2013 07:08:32 AM MDT

Where are we on the multipurpose events center (MPEC), an interested citizen asked at the mayor's monthly coffee chat at the senior center last week. He voiced concern that Estes Park is "trying to build the world's largest equestrian center for 6,000 people, to be used five months out of the year. I'm hoping we can get to the point we can advertise and it will drive economic development 12 months of the year."

Mayor pro tem Eric Blackhurst explained the history and purpose of the project, saying the idea has been around since the 1970s, in various iterations. It has evolved from a 66,000-square-foot center six years ago to the current project that is 33,000 square feet, designed for multiple uses, among them housing 140 horses in the summer — along with the ancient, peeling stall barns that will be replaced for the expensive horses visiting during the summer season.

In the winter, the MPEC can be expected to host a variety of exhibitions and shows — car, livestock, trade and entertainment. There are 10-foot-by-10-foot draped exhibit areas. In the fall, winter and spring, the MPEC will follow and augment the successful conference center model, Blackhurst said. The conference center has reached the point that it's paid its own way, but it also is too small now for some events that we could bring here, combining the MPEC and the conference center facilities. Building the MPEC and the stall barns provides the town with the possibility to attract a variety of events year-round, he added.

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The pro forma estimated it will cost the town about $135,000 a year to run the MPEC, but Blackhurst said the estimated sales tax revenue will be about $720,000 a year. Even if the numbers are 50-percent wrong, Blackhurst said, we'd still be money ahead. Larger crowds can be accommodated, and they will stay in lodging, eat in the restaurants and shop, to fill up the slack season, he said.

It will give Estes Park the ability to do lots of things, and Blackhurst said it is designed to be as flexible as can be, with furniture, fixtures and equipment and information technology.

The plans for the MPEC were finalized in 2010, and were sitting on a shelf, Blackhurst said, waiting for the pro forma to be done. After the pro forma and the financial pieces were considered, Blackhurst said the town would be using certificates of participation to borrow about $6 million, at 2.9 percent interest over 14 years.

Blackhurst said that the town has money in the budget to pay for the debt service. If, once the MPEC is built, it generates more money than expected, that will be growing the pie, and give us more money with which to work.

When a resident noted the MPEC will be "way short on meeting space" for conventions, Blackhurst agreed, but said that is why the idea is to pair it with the convention center. Upgrades to the convention center are also planned as time goes on, he added.

Mayor Bill Pinkham said the construction of the stall barns and the MPEC were considered to be the top two things the town needed to do to attract more business here. It helps that we have a good relationship with The Ranch in Loveland, and we may expect to get some business from things they can't handle there, he said. It also helps that our town administrator, Frank Lancaster, was the Larimer County manager when The Ranch was built, as a $60-million facility 10 years ago. A similar space in the First National building there is used for many things and you can dress it up for proms and car shows. The Budweiser Events Center there hosts hockey, football, concerts and about 7.000 people. The model for The Ranch was similar to the one used here, officials agreed, with conference space provided in a hotel next door. Shuttles work well in providing transportation, and officials are talking with Forever Resorts (owner of The Rocky Mountain Park Inn, which houses the conference center) about partnering on the MPEC project.

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